Another side of the same person
by baynard
Summary: Videl had finally gotten used to Gohan the nerd only to have her views of him shaken up with the arrival of their new superstar classmate who happens to be an old friend of the quiet new kid that Videl was finally learning to get along with. Orange high will never be quite the same, and neither will Videl
1. Same old, same old

Videl felt a sense of satisfaction flush her body as her fist smashed into the last standing criminal's face. The 9mm pistol barked out a deafening boom as the weapon discharged almost next to the crime fighter's head, but luckily she had her sound proof earplugs on. The stray round pinged off one of the many police squadron cars blockading the entrance of the Satan City Bank, and Videl rolled her eyes as she heard the frightened squeak of an overweight police officer cowering behind the vehicle that barely covered his massive body.

As the criminal stumbled back clutching his bloodied face, a quick snap kick to the temple interrupted him mid yell putting him down for the count. A great cheer broke out from the police officers who had been covering the scene with half drawn weapons, and a greater cheer broke out from the crowd standing further back.

Rolling her eyes again, Videl had to wonder at the stupidity of people who hung about watching her take down criminals. Sure, so far in her career as a crime fighter no one had been killed yet, but that didn't excuse the morons standing around gawking at her while she pummeled half-witted criminals within gun distance or worst yet those who stood close enough to be in hostage grabbing distance. What really pissed her off was when they took pictures or videos. What was she, some sort of entertaining monkey pandering to their amusement?

Dusting her hands off, Videl chanced a glance skywards, but there was not telltale glow of the golden warrior watching over her today. Frowning slightly but not certain why she felt disappointment, Videl halfheartedly smiled at the police officers that rushed by to snap on wrist cuffs onto the downed bank robbers. Lately the mysterious golden warrior that had appeared some two months back had stopped helping her fight crime as he had initially done. Nowadays he mostly showed up and hung around in the air with his arms crossed while watching her fight. By the time she had put down the last criminal, he would be gone, as if he had never been there at all.

In the past month there had been only one instance where he had stepped in, and admittedly things would have gone really bad for Videl if he hadn't. Some criminals that had been holding up a jewelry store had gotten their hands on some military ordinance, and Videl had found herself on the wrong end of a rocket launcher. Sometimes at night she still woke in a cold sweat, remembering acutely how her perception of time seemed to have slowed down to a crawl for her to watch the missile come inching towards her position while her body was still helplessly slow in moving out of the way. Certain that death was imminent and wishing she had managed to find what was left of her father within the stranger hailed as the world savior, Videl had closed her eyes and waited for the end.

Instead of oblivion, she had been treated to the dizzying sensation of vertigo resulting from moving too quickly for her body to comprehend. When she dared open her eyes she found herself stumbling on pavement half a block away from the crime scene. By the time she jogged back to the jewelry store, all the thugs had been knocked unconscious and the missile that had been fired was placed neatly on the ground next to the leader's head. The police analyst had been baffled by what they found. The missile had in fact run out of propellant, which was perplexing seeing as it had not hit anything. Even if it had been a dud it should have hit something and left a dent. But nothing in the nearby crime scene had sustained any damage that would fit the profile of a collision with a speeding object the size of a missile.

Decapsulating her jetcopter with a practiced motion, Videl opened the door and stepped into the pilot seat. Removing the reinforced fingerless gloves from her hands, she took a moment to examine the design of the protective garment that had no traceable logo or markings. She had used a trusty brand of sparring gloves when she fought the various criminal elements that plagued Satan City in the past, but the soft material had often left her hands bloodied and scrapped. On more than one occasion she had found herself with fractured knuckles from having pounded on an especially thick skulled brute. Somewhere around the beginning of the month she had been fighting a group of wannabe gangsters trying to make a name for themselves by holding the mayor hostage. When she had returned to her jetcopter which she had left uncapsulated in her haste to get to the mayor, she had found the pair of reinforced gloves on the dashboard of her plane.

The material was soft and velvety, but had a certain leathery quality to them that fit snuggly to her hands yet still allowed her skin to breathe. The back of the hand was reinforced with a thin plate that she later found out was titanium, and the knuckles of the fingerless glove sported similar titanium reinforcement with cushioning within the finger cusps themselves. They were a bit heavier than she was used to, but the benefits of being able to punch a dent in a car while barely feeling it certainly offset the small disadvantage she learned quickly to adapt to. She had seen the golden warrior hovering over the scene when she had hopped down to tackle one of the hostage takers, and she assumed the gift was from him.

Part of her wanted to throw them back in his face if she ever saw him close enough in person to do so, but the other part fell in love with the advantages they gave her. Being pragmatic, she had put aside her ambivalent feelings towards the mysterious hero and had put his gift to good use much to the dismay of the criminals that found themselves on the wrong end of her now reinforced fists.

Soon after, she found other random objects in her jetcopter whenever she left it uncapsulated when she went to fight. There had been this strangely elastic vest that had molded to her body when she had tried it on. The material was thin and had a silky feel to them, and she had gotten the impression it was supposed to be some sort of armor. Videl had point blank refused the police chief's demand for her to wear a bullet proof vest when fighting because the material slowed her down and was more likely to get her shot than if she could move freely, but the strange silky vest felt more akin to a second skin than bulky armor.

Out of curiosity she had brought the vest into the police firing range to test for herself how effective it was. She had been shocked when the flimsy garment held up against military grade armor piercing rounds fired from a sniper rifle. Granted seeing the damage to the dummy beneath the armor, most likely she'd be sporting some broken ribs and some massive internal hemorrhaging, but that was preferable to having her body torn in half by a .50 caliber tungsten round. It had withstood being cut and even burned. She had been tempted to see what electricity might do to it, but chances were she wouldn't survive contact even if the armor stood up to it.

The form fitting vest hugged her frame nicely and was barely noticeable underneath her normal clothes and Videl had taken to wearing the thing every day. It had gotten some funny looks from her classmates in the locker rooms for P.E. but Videl paid them no mind. Oddly after a while she noticed that the material also acted as a temperature regulator. The parts of her body covered by the silky material always felt just right even if the rest of her was blazing hot or freezing cold. Some nights she was tempted to wear it to bed to keep warm, but she refrained from doing so even if the silky material was rather pleasing to the touch.

There had also been a small bag of these strange dried green bean looking things she had found with a typed note placed inside them. Supposedly these beans had amazing healing properties in case she ever got grievously injured while on the job and taking one of them will save her from death's door. She had scoffed at the supposedly magical properties of the dried beans, but had nonetheless kept them on her person. Hell if she was dying it might be worth a shot even if it was only to give herself some false hope before she kicked the bucket.

Sighing to herself for her morbid thoughts, Videl maneuvered her jetcopter onto the roof of her high school taking note of the time on her on board clock. It seemed she would make it to class on time today for once. Walking into her multistoried building of a school she fought back a sigh at the chattering crowd of teenagers. Sometimes she really couldn't relate to people her own age. Scratch that, she just didn't relate very well to people in general.


	2. just another day

**AN: Wow you guys are awesome! =D I wasn't even expecting any reviews for my 1500 word blurb, but here I am looking at 5 already. You guys really know how to make a guy feel welcome!**

**Dp3of5: Good guess ;p**

**Chaos267: I'm gonna try to keep up a fast work pace by keeping the word count low so expect to see updaters soon even if they're not super long**

**BloodyDrenith: I'm gonna have to check this story you mentioned out. I'm not a huge reader of DBZ, but I love this pairing!**

**Moonange511: here's your next chapter! **

**Sportsfan64: You're my first reviewer for this story so you are especially awesome in my books! +D**

Gohan quietly ghosted through the hallways, careful not to draw too much attention to himself. It was strange being in an environment full of people his age. All of his life he had lived out in the wilderness in the family home his father had built them with his own two hands. He only went to populated towns to get groceries for his mother and only occasionally hitting up the big city, though that was usually to visit Bulma and her family. Even after two months at Orange High, Gohan was still having some trouble adjusting to the loud noise and unpredictability of the teenagers he was surrounded with.

Being half saiyan, his hearing was especially sensitive and he had not realized just how uncomfortable he was with a stranger to his back until he went to high school. Even though he could sense their ki, it left him somewhat uneasy to expose himself in such a way, which was rather ridiculous seeing as he could reduce the planet to ashes without even really having to exert himself all that much. Vegeta had explained it as Gohan's saiyan instincts trying to protect his one weak spot, even if it no longer existed.

Protecting your tail meant the difference between life and death on planet Vegeta. Even the most powerful saiyan became weaker than a newborn when their tails were being constricted. Removal of an opponent's tail was the highest insult one could give, a sign of untold contempt, that your foe wasn't even worthy of being killed. It certainly explained how outraged Vegeta had been when his tail got cut off by Yajirobe, after all the only thing worse than being insulted in such a manner was to be insulted by someone weaker than you.

Breathing a sigh of relief as he managed to get to his locker unmolested, Gohan spun the combination lock. Two months of being harassed by males brimming with testosterone picking on him for being a nerd, as if intelligence was something to be scoffed at and devalued. More than once he'd had to fight his more feral half's desire to smash some heads in. Two months of being manhandled by some of the most overly forward women Gohan had the misfortune to meet. Their heavy perfumes sent waves of nausea through him whenever they got too close, almost strong enough to turn his stomach away from lunch! Well, almost.

"Hey Gohan!" The cheerful chirp came from a bubbly blonde who was dressed more appropriately for a fashion runway strut than a high school classroom.

Turning, the unknown savior of mankind smiled at one of the few friends he had managed to make in his time at Orange High. Erasa Rubber was at first glance just another airhead who spent all her time primping and focused on the latest fashion. Though she played the role of the ditz exceptionally well, one only had to take a look at her course load to see past the façade of the brainless boy crazy teenaged girl. She was in almost all of Gohan's AP level classes with the exception of BC Calculus (she was in AB), and she had been doing quite well even before she had asked Gohan to tutor her and give some pointers.

"Sup Nerd." The barely understandable precoffee grunt came from the rather well muscled all-star jock of Orange High. Though Sharpner certainly looked the part of all the other meat heads that had gone out of their way to harass Gohan, there was no heat in his words. At first the blonde male had felt slightly threatened by the other male's presence in his close circle of friends which consisted of Videl and Erasa. Sure he hung out with other people too, but only those two girls really knew him well. Hell they had known each other before Videl's father had gotten famous for beating Cell; they had in fact watched the Cell Games together!

Though Sharpner played the role of the outraged wannabe suitor to Videl, in reality it was more for her benefit than anything else. The tall muscled jock had a rather well-deserved reputation of punch first ask later, and being the statewide boxing champ who placed into the finals at the national level, he could punch pretty damn hard. Even the most thick headed hormone driven males thought twice before getting fresh with "Sharpner's girl", and Videl capitalized on this by not being asked out every other hour by some guy who wanted to get in with the Champ. Not that Videl wouldn't be a prize in herself, but it was not easy to find someone who could see past her status as the daughter of the world savior.

So Sharpner continued to play the role of the snubbed suitor to shield his longtime friend from having to deal with fame mongers even though in reality his eyes were firmly set on someone else, someone of a blonder persuasion. He had been wary of Gohan at first; Sharpner was more used to dealing with ego driven can't keep it in his pants type of guy trying to worm their way into their small group, but soon found that Gohan was just another drifter lost in a sea of superficial pretense of adolescence. Having gauged that his intentions were truly just to be friends, Sharpner had backed off and even warmed up to having another male to bond with. Sure Gohan wasn't the most outgoing or overly competitive sort of guy, but sometimes it was nice just to have another dude around if only to share a stupefied glance with whenever girls did something unfathomable to the male mind.

"Erasa, Sharpner." Gohan's greeting was received with another bleary grunt from the blonde male while his female counterpart began chattering away about all the new gossip she had managed to hear over the weekend. Hear was perhaps the wrong word to use. One might hear a fire alarm, or hear something on the news. What Erasa did was something else altogether. She had a frightening information gathering capability. Her social network on campus and outside of school was better described as a spy ring comparable with covert espionage groups in its ability to gather intelligence. There was nothing juicy, scandalous or shocking that escaped the blonde's attention. Her ability to start a whisper campaign was so well known that some politicians had discretely inquired into paying for her services whenever their reputation needed a little padding before the campaign season. It was no wonder she wanted to be an investigative reporter, though failing that, people around the globe would be falling all over themselves to hire her as a PR rep.

"Big fight today, you guys coming?" Sharpner was captain of the boxing team, and had led Orange High through two years of statewide victory, in the past as the star fighter and now as the leader of the team.

"Oh you know it babe!" Erasa sidled up and gave her friends arm a quick reassuring squeeze. "I'll be there in the front row to cheer you all the way! Knock out some teeth for me ya?" Her current position hooked to Sharpner's arm didn't afford a clear view to his glowing face, but Gohan was more than able to see his new friend's reaction.

Shooting an embarrassed Sharpner an amused glance, Gohan shook his head and finished grabbing the books he needed out of his locker. He may have grown up in the countryside, but he certainly wasn't unfamiliar with human interactions. Even to him, it was plain as day that Sharpner had more than friendly affection for Erasa. How someone as astute as she was could be so blind to something right in front of her was beyond Gohan.

"Yah, I told mom I'd be running late," said Gohan as he shut his locker.

His answer got a predictable eye roll from Sharpner. "Geez man, you really need to loosen that two foot leash your mom has around your neck. Not cool bro. Not cool at all."

"Oh stop it!" said Erasa as she slapped her friends arm. "I think it's sweet. What's wrong with wanting your parent's approval?"

Grunting the boxer closed his own locker which was below Erasa's. "Gotta be your own man someday. Can't go crying to mommy all the time."

Erasa rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply but cut herself off with a squeal.

"Videl! You're on time today!"

Rushing forward to her longtime friend, the blonde girl wrapped Videl in an enthusiastic hug as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Well it had been a three day weekend.

"I do manage to arrive on time occasionally," Videl remarked dryly with an amused quirk of her lips.

"Boys." The single word acknowledgement was playful in tone.

The two males hung back slightly while giving their own greetings as Videl maneuvered her way to her locker and grabbed what she needed. "All ready for AP bio?"

Sharpner groaned at the crime fighter's question. "I don't know how you two talked me into taking that class. It's a killer!"

"Don't whine Sharpner," chided Erasa. "It's a prerequisite for AP physiology which you should take if you want to become a sports coach after your career in the field ends."

"Yeah well if I make enough money playing then I won't need to be a coach will I?" he replied snidely with a sneer. That comment got him another swat on his arm.

Seeing that Videl was closing up her locker, the foursome headed off to their first period of a very long day. Long for Gohan because he was going over material he had learned ages ago. Long for the others because high school was damn hard.


	3. On what could have been

**AN: I got really fired up, so here's another quick mind blurb I got while I should have been doing a paper that's due next week! Hope you guys enjoy it.**

The bubbles brushed up against the worn skin of her hands, but she paid them no mind. Having raised two half saiyans on her own, Chichi had a lot of practice washing dishes and cooking. It was a time of reflective meditation for her, a time to clear her head and get in touch with her own thoughts. Her two boys knew not to bother her when she was doing either chore, and since those two chores took up the majority of her day, they didn't bother her too much at all.

Rinsing the rice bowl off with the cool running water, Chichi absentmindedly thought about the past few years since Goku had decided to stay in the otherworld. In a way she understood why her husband had made the decision he had. People always assumed that Goku wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, even his closest friends, but Chichi suspected that her husband always knew more than he let on. He was no secret braniac of course, but there was a certain amount of wisdom that counteracted his lack of formal education.

So in a way yes, Chichi did understand why he had chosen to stay dead. It seemed every fight that had come along that threatened the existence of the planet was related to Goku in some way or another however indirect. And in the years since his passing things had settled down and there hadn't been any more trouble. Hell even the battle hungry Vegeta, self-proclaimed prince of all saiyans had settled down and become somewhat of a family man albeit reluctantly. But sometimes she wished her husband didn't have to be so damn noble. Though she loved him all the more for it, for once in his life she wished he'd just do the selfish thing and stay back on earth. Stay with the living. With her.

A stray tear rolled down her cheek but Chichi wiped it off with the sleeve of her elbow. She missed him, every single day she missed him. Every night when she went to bed alone and every morning when she woke by herself without his warmth by her side seemed to take a bit more out of her. Whoever said that time heals all wounds obviously had never been hurt so deeply it felt like a piece of themselves were missing. Goku hadn't simply been her husband; he had been her soul mate. The one that completed her. Her missing half. The only thing keeping her going was the thought of her two boys, one now all grown up and trying to find his own way in the world that couldn't understand him and what he was capable of.

Gohan was a good boy despite all her tirades to the contrary. She knew he had always done what he could to make her proud, to make Goku proud, despite how they both had opposing views of what he should be. When she had first given birth to Gohan, Chichi had vowed that her son would never raise his hands to strike another person. Nothing good had ever come for those who learned martial arts, one only had to look at Goku and the rest to see that violence and chaos always followed those who were considered amongst the world's strongest fighters.

She had expected to have to browbeat her point into her husband, but surprisingly he had agreed without a fuss. Perhaps a part of him had also become tired of the constant fighting and didn't want his son to have to live through the same life and death struggles he had as a child. For four blissful years they had been a real family. Goku had worked hard during that time to keep the family finances afloat. A grown saiyan and a growing half saiyan in the same household ate up a lot of food. Goku had taken multiple part time jobs, using his enormous strength to work in construction and deforesting to earn enough income to feed his small family. Chichi had made sure her husband and little boy were well fed, toiling day and night to get food on the table and hunting down game when money was scarce.

For four years Chichi believed that they could live normal lives, be ordinary people. Then Goku's past caught up to them. A short visit to their old friends while she had prepared dinner had turned into a disaster that had left her husband dead and her baby boy kidnapped. That first year apart from her family had nearly seen the end of her life at her own hands. It had hurt unlike anything she had ever felt in her life being separated from Goku, and even though she knew he would be coming back, the thought that he was returning to once more fight for the survival of the earth sickened her to her stomach. Her baby boy who had never been taught how to fight or survive on his own due to her nurturing was left in the hands of their former enemy Piccolo. She lay awake each night wondering where her little boy was and praying for his safety.

The year passed in agonizing slowness and the day of the arrival of the Saiyans finally pulled her out of the depths of her misery. Bulma had flown her out of the mountain area to watch the feeds for the battle that would take place. Chichi did not want to go, but the thought of finally being able to see her family even if they were fighting was too much to resist. She really shouldn't have.

Watching her old friends die one by one and seeing her firstborn crying over Piccolo's cooling corpse tore a hole in her already broken heart. Goku had arrived in time to spare Gohan the same fate as the other fighters that had perished, and for that Chichi was grateful. Even knowing of the power of the dragonballs to raise the dead, if she had seen her son die it would have pushed her over the edge.

The nerve wracking battle had been cut short as the satellite feed had been destroyed and Chichi had waited in terror for the news of the outcome of the fight of the century. She thought of it that way at the time, but it was funny how many fights of the century there were within those few short years.

Her husband and baby boy returned to her in one piece. But the year apart had changed them; they were no longer that same family that had happily lived together out in the woods. Goku once more carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and her baby boy had grown to rely on himself, gaining a newfound stubborn determination to put things right that he had not had before he left. Chichi herself was hurting too much to see that it pained her boys just as much to have to leave so soon, all she could think about at the time was how they were finally united again yet they were determined to leave her once more.

There was not much for her to do during their trip to Namek. She had sat home as she had done the past year, worrying herself into misery imagining the fate of her son and husband on some distant alien battlefield. Chichi had been tempted to demand a place for herself on the shuttle to Namek, but in the end she knew that she would only get in the way. Her friend Bulma had gone along with her son and Krillin which settled some of Chichi's nerves. Despite her occasional bouts of ditziness that came from her mother's side of the family, Bulma could be counted on to watch over Gohan as if he were her own son.

With no news and nothing else to occupy herself with, she had spent a lot of time with her father taking care of the old ox king and helping him manage his kingdom during the months her family was in space. The news of her son's return was unexpected, as was Goku's decision to return to earth the long way. Still she counted her blessings that at least half of her family was back within her reach and she had been determined to see that Gohan drop all the fighting nonsense and return onto the path of being a scholar.

Thinking back on it now, it seemed silly to think that things could go back to the way they were before. Her little boy was a warrior now, a soldier with the blood of enemies on his hands. Nothing would bring back the earlier naivety of those first four years of his life, and though he went about dutifully studying everything she heaped upon him in the false hope of drowning out his bloodied experiences with an accumulation of knowledge beyond his years, a part of her had known it was futile.

She was not blind to his sneaking out to train, working himself to the bone to prepare for the coming android invasion. Or the way his face lit up whenever Piccolo had come to visit his apprentice. A large part of her hated that green bean for taking her son away from her, but she was also grateful that he had prepared Gohan to survive the battles that called to her son. And so she pretended not to know whenever her son woke at four in the morning to go train. She smiled for him when he showed her his test scores, cleaned up after him and made sure he was well fed. But all along she felt herself drift further and further away from what they once were. The hollow pain in her chest had seemed to become a normal part of life and she no longer paid it much heed. What was important was that her son was here, and that her husband would soon join them. Maybe then the healing process could begin.

But it didn't. Goku's arrival only signaled the beginning of another battle, a battle greater than any other that had ever graced the Earth. Once more her family was torn asunder by the call to war, and once more she could do nothing but sit at home and patiently wait, silently sending her prayers that would not be answered. When the ashes finally settled, her husband lay dead, this time for good, and her only son was broken not in body, but in the spirit and mind.

Again Chichi contemplated joining Goku in the afterlife. It was simply too much to bear. The only thing that had ever kept her going as long as she had was the thought that one day things would be normal again and they could be a whole family once more. That dream was forever shattered when her dull eyed son had whispered to her in a lifeless tone that "daddy wasn't coming back". Those four words had dug into her like knives and all the pain and sorrow she had held back with the hope of normalcy broke through the dams of her heart her like flood gates bursting before the eternal tides. She had been inconsolable, becoming a ghost of herself for the first few weeks she had learned that her husband would not be returning.

Gohan had taken care of her to the best of his ability, cooking and cleaning around the house as she had. It only served to twist the blades of despair deeper as it became apparent that even her son no longer really needed her. He could take care of himself if need be. The very thought of continuing without Goku was too much. She had decided to end it all. It had not been planned, but simply a moment of weakness that she held great shame over even years after.

She had held a knife over her wrist, prepared to cut away the cords of her life so that she could join her mate. She had left a letter to her son apologizing for her own weakness and praying for his forgiveness while telling him how proud she was of him. To Bulma Chichi left a letter begging for her longtime friend take care of her son and apologizing for leaving her this burden.

Though she no longer practiced martial arts and her skills were rusty, she still retained some of the things she had learned in her quest to defeat Goku at the world tournament. Reaching out her senses she had probed for the ki of her sleeping son so that she may touch him one more time before she left this life behind. Much to her shock she had discovered a third ki source in their small home, this one faint, but clearly within herself. In the end it was Goten that had saved Chichi's life. The discovery of his existence had swayed her hand and her instincts as a mother would not allow her to end his life before it had the chance to begin.

The next day she had left her room and returned to being a full time mother to Gohan and eventually Goten. The years passed by in relative peace and Chichi carried on as she always had. The two letters remained sealed in their envelopes in a shoebox in her room beneath her bed, as did the knife she had chosen to end her existence with. A third letter had been added to the box in time, this one addressed to Goten. The box remained hidden away, her secret shame of what she may have done, and proof of the guilt of what she planned to one day do.

The pain of her separation from Goku had not dissipated, had not lessened, had not healed. Only her love for her sons and their need for her existence fueled her desire to keep going, but one day they wouldn't need her anymore.

Turning her attention back to the dining room where Goten was busily coloring away at a picture he had drawn, Chichi smiled to herself.

'Wait for me Goku,' Chichi thought. 'We'll be together again someday.'

**AN: I know a bit morbid, but I always thought that there was more to Chichi's character than a screaming harpy as shown in the tv series and most other people's fictions. Hope I did it justice.**


	4. On Where You Are

Gohan held back a sigh as he halfheartedly took notes on cellular respiration. AP Bio was considered one of the hardest courses available to students at Orange High, 3rd only to AP Chemistry and AP Physics. Most of his classmates held looks of utter concentration on their faces as they examined the diagram projected onto the wall as the teacher continued her lecture. A handful looked confused, most likely those who had chosen not to read ahead of time as was required. Gohan had skimmed over the required chapter, but even before doing so he already knew most of the information presented within well enough to teach it without preparing beforehand.

He had hit college level material before he had become super saiyan, and by the time his mother had registered him for Orange High his mastery of most academic topics were on par with some of the most brilliant minds at the most prestigious universities the world had to offer. He had been reluctant with going along with the idea of heading to high school, but really he never could say no to his mother. Not when the earth wasn't in danger anyways. Respect was something that had been drilled into him since he could walk, dozens of life altering battles later did not change that fact.

College seemed to be the more obvious choice to him given his level of academic prowess, but his mother had wanted him to socialize more with people his age, and so he had reluctantly gone along with it. His first few weeks at school had certainly done nothing to improve his impression of teenagers in general; it seemed everyone here had the attention span of a two year old combined with a widespread epidemic of narcissism.

A nudge to his ribs knocked him out of his stream of thought and he turned to look at Videl in surprise. She in turn widened her eyes and twitched her eyebrows towards the front of the room where the teacher was looking expectantly back at him.

"Uh… I'm sorry could you repeat that?" Gohan asked while giving a sheepish smile. The classical Son smile never failed in getting him out of trouble. Well with anyone besides his mother that is.

The teacher sighed but gave him a fond smile nonetheless. "Head in the clouds today Gohan? I asked if you could write the basic equation for cellular respiration on the board."

Seeing the looks of relief from half the class directed at him, it was obvious they were glad he was the one chosen to answer a question they didn't know the answer to. Being wrong when answering a question was one thing, but blanking out while standing in front of the entire class? It seemed most people weren't too keen on giving that a go. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Gohan walked up to the board, taking the piece of chalk the teacher had offered him.

C6H12O6(s) + 6O2(g) - 6CO2(g) + 6H2O(l) + heat

"Well I'm glad somebody bothered to read the textbook," said the teacher approvingly.

Fighting another urge to roll his eyes, Gohan headed back to his seat. He hadn't, it was just something that was drilled into him since he was seven.

"Man how the hell do you remember this stuff?" whispered Sharpner as he sat down next to the blonde.

"Practice I guess," he replied with a careless shrug.

As the class began furiously copying down notes on what the teacher was saying Gohan felt eyes watching him. Turning slightly he met Videl's gaze, watching in confusion as she quickly jerked away.

'Did I do something?' he thought. Watching the city's resident crime fighter a while longer, he felt a deep longing well up within him. The feeling was not new, though certainly rather surprising when he had first acknowledged them. He found Videl attractive. Her slim slender form belied a hidden strength few had, backed by an iron will that allowed the teenaged girl to leap headlong into gunfire headless of the danger. Though she dressed rather plainly, forgoing makeup or some of the more extravagant outfits Gohan has seen some girls wear, it only served to bring out her natural beauty more.

His saiyan half stirred every time she was close, her scent becoming distinctive enough for him to pick out in a crowd full of people. The very sight of her often heightened his perception of the world as his eyes dilated and his other senses sharpened beyond their already inhuman limits. Gohan often felt the urge to release his power, to allow his ki to burst forth in order to impress her, but his human half quashed that desire. Not only would it probably scare the hell out of Videl, but chances were she would connect the dots between his searing aura and that of the gold fighter.

The gold fighter. That was one headache he did not want to deal with. While flying to his first day of class he had witnessed a robbery of a bank in progress. Having been raised with a strong sense of morality and seeing the thugs fire shots alarmingly close to the unprotected fleeing civilians, Gohan had reluctantly stepped in.

Hiding his identity with a quick transformation into the first stage of super saiyan, a blonde haired teal eyed Gohan had quickly smashed the criminals into the ground. As he flew away, his sharp hearing caught the telltale click of cameras which he knew was going to spell trouble for him later. And boy was there trouble. Fuzzy images of his glowing form had been splattered across the internet before he had even reached his school, heralding the arrival of a new superhero guardian of Satan City. The evening news would also sport a small segment of blurred footage of his form quickly beating down the criminals.

The video clip had been shot from a shaking cellphone camera, and the 3 seconds of film had been slowed down to the point where even his impossibly quick movements could be clearly made out as he pummeled the unsuspecting robbers. Thank goodness his aura served to blur out his face, but even so he had choked on a drumstick during dinner at the speculations being thrown about from the evening news.

He had expected his mother to explode for having revealed his unusual heritage to the world on his first day out, but surprisingly she had laughed it off, saying he was every bit his father's son. The only reason Gohan had continued fighting crime was the discovery that the police seemed to call on Videl to handle everything from a hostage situation to unruly traffic goers.

The half saiyan was astonished by the incompetence of the police officers of the city. What type of protectors were they if they needed a 17 year old girl to do most their work? And so with some hesitation he followed Videl out to the city whenever the police called, mostly to make sure that nothing happened to her.

At first he had stepped in and taken down every criminal that had crossed her path, but soon found out that Videl was not all too happy about this. The discovery was made when she had chased him down in her jetcopter and screamed at him for a good ten minutes while they hovered over Satan City. Some days Gohan wondered if there wasn't some saiyan blood in the girl. She certainly seemed to have the pride and desire to fight part down pretty well.

So he had stepped back to watch and intervening only when things got too dangerous. He gave her what tools he could to help her endeavors, a pair of fighting gloves Bulma had given him when he had gone to Namek that his hands had outgrown, the old armor Bulma had reversed engineered off the schematics she had pilfered from King Cold's destroyed ship and some spare senzo beans he had laying around in his room.

His constant tailing of her had left her suspicious to his actual identity, as Gohan seemed to go to the bathroom quite often whenever she had to go off to fight crime. Knowing the game would be given away if he continued flying after her, but still wanting to be there to make sure she was alright, Gohan had spent a weekend with Tien and Chaozu up in the mountains learning the secret art of the body split technique from the Crane fighting school.

It was an interesting experience being separated into two people. It wasn't like he was aware of being in two places at once; he actually existed as two separate individuals when he split himself. But the splitting came at a cost, everything was halved, his intelligence, his power. Of course that posed no problem seeing as a fraction of his power was still enough to wipe out life on the planet and even half his intellect would put him in the upper echelons of the IQ test scores. So Gohan had managed to figure out a way to keep Videl protected while still assuaging her suspicions as to his real identity.

Of course even if Sharpner and Erasa reported his presence at school the entire time Videl was off fighting crime, the suspicion would still be there if the gold fighter continued to wear the same clothes Gohan did. Luckily he still remembered the old trick Piccolo had taught him on how to repair his clothing, and with a bit of experimenting he managed to teach himself how to alter his clothes enough to throw Videl off the trail.

Though she continued to chase after the gold fighter whenever she caught a glimpse of him, his normal personality of being Gohan saw a mild improvement in his relationship with Videl. She seems to have accepted him as a friend and even seemed to like him as a person if her reactions to his presence were anything to judge by. That being said, it wasn't exactly an outward display of affection or anything like that; more a less likely to bite his head off than with other people.

Fighting back an urge to heave another sigh, Gohan switched his attention back to his notes where he had been carefully crafting an image of the city from a bird's eye view form memory. Sometimes life was just too complicated. In a way he missed the battles. Sure they were dangerous and the existence of his planet hung on the line of his victory, but they were simple. Get stronger, beat the enemy. Nothing complicated like feelings and relationships.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Videl cast a sideways glance in his direction. Curious, but not wanting to alert Videl, he decided to ask her in homeroom. After all it was a free period where most people spent it goofing off rather than doing work as the time was intended. Nobody would pay much attention to their conversation there.

**AN: I know, I know, ya'll want to know who the superstar is. Well that person will be revealed after the next chapter! I got a little brain teaser moment yesterday and churned out two chapters instead of one so there still one more to go before I get moving on main story line. Hope you guys r enjoying the story =) **


	5. On Where You Have Been

Bulma hummed happily to herself as she toiled away underneath the spacecraft she was building. She had big plans for this baby. Most people would find it strange that the CEO of the largest technological company in the world, and arguably one of the most beautiful women on the planet, would find satisfaction in wearing dirty overalls with her hair tied up in a messy bundle while crawling through tight ventilation pipe systems to make manual repairs.

Like her father before her, she defaulted most of the company's day to day running to a trusted de facto department head of her choice while making personal appearances at company gatherings and announcements and making the big decisions herself when necessary. But most of the time, she preferred to stay in the laboratory wing of her massive home working away on the next big breakthrough alongside her father.

Humming a silly tune she had picked up from watching Saturday morning cartoons with her son, she mindlessly removed the metal plating and replaced the screws with a tougher model that would stand up better to the rigors of space travel. It had seemed like a lifetime ago since she had traveled to Namek, off on one last hurrah before she settled down to be the CEO of her father's company. If someone had told her ten years prior that she would be married to Vegeta and have a half saiyan son, she would have laughed herself sick before committing said person to a mental institution.

But here she was, ten years later, happily married and mother to an unruly son who had inherited his father's temperance and his mother's intelligence. It was a rather frightening combination to be sure. She paused in her screwing of the last bolt as her thoughts strayed to her husband. As always the very thought of the man brought a mixture of anger, happiness, lust and pity. The dizzying set of emotions had not changed in the years since she had first been with the man, only lessened in intensity.

Frowning to herself, she finished replacing the metal plating and moved on to the next segment. Once upon a time Vegeta had been their number one enemy. When he had first invaded earth with Nappa, she had remembered watching with her friends and family the terrifying battle unfold on the massive television set in the living room. She recalled distinctly wondering how someone so short could be so dangerous. Bulma had cheered loudly the news of his defeat and almost clubbed Goku back into unconsciousness when she found out he had spared the man.

Afterwards, all thoughts of Vegeta had left her head as the excitement of space travel overtook her. She was going to be the first human to leave the solar system! She had always been an explorer at heart; her quest for the dragonballs that had led to her fateful meeting with Goku and all her current friends was more for the sake of seeing the world than to really wish for the perfect boyfriend as she had told the others. Bulma couldn't have cared less if the starred balls had turned out to be little more than pretty stones, she would have been happy just for the experience alone.

Her arrival at an alien world had been nothing like she had imagined. Namek was barren and desolate, an endless sea of green upon blue that had never suffered the footsteps of man. The battles that took place there finally convinced her that her adventuring days were over. She was too old to be going about risking her pretty neck to satisfy her curiosity; better to just stay in the labs and put her massive intellect to good use. She did not know what had possessed her to invite Vegeta of all people to come live with her when they had returned to earth, but perhaps what was more surprising was that he had agreed.

None of her friends knew the whole story behind how they had gotten together, and certainly none of them had known of her pregnancy with until Trunks had been born. And it would stay that way if she had anything to say about it. People misunderstood Vegeta's moody outward displays; they saw him as a mindless brute that lusted for more power, always one step away from being the enemy. But she had gotten to know the man, and despite all her misgivings she had fallen in love with him. Not the simple infatuation she had felt towards Yamcha as a teenager. No, this was a deep longing for completeness that she had only ever heard Chichi properly describe in passing.

The others only saw the anger and hate in her man, but they were blind to the hurt and the fear. Vegeta trained not because he wanted power for himself, but so that he could have the power to protect his family, the only thing left that anchored him to the world. Everyone knew of alien Prince's departure into space for a number of years during the three year time span before Cell's arrival. Most assumed he had abandoned her when he had found out about her unwanted pregnancy. But Bulma had tracked his destinations, watched as her homemade shuttle sent back signals from the furthest corners of the galaxy.

Out of curiosity she had cross-referenced those locations with the gigantic galactic database she had downloaded off of Freeza's wrecked ship. Every planet, every space station he visited had once been a part of the Cold Empire. After Vegeta's tour through Cold controlled space, the only legacy left of the lizard like family was most likely rubble and ash. Without a word he had arrived back on earth just as he had departed. Bulma never asked what he had done or why he had done it, simply accepted that he was intent on being a part of her life even if he never said it aloud.

There were many things Vegeta never spoke aloud. He could not display the appropriate fatherly affection because he had known none himself. That didn't him from trying. He took Trunks to the park however much he grumbled about the, "weak earthling activity." Though he complained and gripped about it, each Saturday morning he sat dutifully next to her rolling his eyes while Trunks bounced between their laps in front of the television. He had even gone with her to parent back to school night for the preschool she had tried to enroll Trunks in.

Vegeta was a passionate man tormented by his past. Taken away at a tender age where his memory had not even fully consolidated yet and raised by a sadistic tyrant who got off on tormenting his underlings, Vegeta was a product of his upbringing. All his life he had fought for what he few lessons he could remember of his heritage. Even against all the oppression and punishments that was heaped upon him in spades, he had held true to himself and his desires. Those battles had left scars that could never be healed properly, both physical and mental.

When they made love at night his frenzied pace and sole focus of attention to her pleasure brought her to climax in ways she could never explain and left her breathless even when only thinking about it. His unbridled desire for her always amazed her and often she awoke the next morning to an empty bed wondering if it had all been just a flighty dream. Yet some nights in the middle of their passion he would break away unable to continue and losing his lust midway through their heated love making.

At these times he would sit at the edge of the bed unable to meet her gaze in shame. Though physically frustrated, she would always hold him from behind whenever it happened gently massaging his back while listening to his labored breathing. He would say the same thing each time, insisting that he was broken man who could not please her as a mate, that she should find someone who was better for her. And every time she would interrupt him with a kiss and coax him back to bed with her. She did not think any less of him for it even if he did so himself, she knew some of what tortured him. Her husband was a man who had burned worlds and murdered countless sentient beings. She would be more worried if he carried on with life unbothered.

On particular nights she awoke and found her husband sitting at the foot of their bed staring listlessly into the darkness. His eyes would be vacant and unseeing, clouded by visions of past battles so far removed from his life on earth that even her voice could not reach him. The times when he was like this she could do little but hold him and whisper comforting words, softly beckoning him to return to her side. Some nights she found him curled next to her, silently crying, begging to some invisible tormentor in a language she did not understand. His anguished cries tore at her heart, but again there was little she could do to neither reach him nor ease his suffering. She held him close and sang softly to him until these moments passed.

They never spoke of it, of these times of silent suffering. But she saw in his eyes the gratefulness, and she heard it in his voice when he whispered softly "My Hashla" to her when he thought her asleep. She knew not what the word meant, but the tenderness and love in his tone that never colored his voice when he spoke to her while they were fully awake told her of the feelings he could not express.

So she did not begrudge him his training. She played and took care of their son when he could not. She watched with sad eyes as every day he continued to polish his armor, the same armor he had worn to each of his battles, the same armor that had guarded him against death for so long. And at night, when he stayed awake, eyes distant, fighting some long forgotten battle on now lifeless planets against dead foes, she stayed by his side and waited for his return. She could be patient. She would wait forever if that was what it took. Because she was his Hashla.

**AN: *ducks rotten fruit being thrown* yah yah I know, not really moving on with the whole mysterious super star story line (though you guys seemed to have guessed pretty well who I had in mind). But since I'm updating so quickly and the chapters are so short, I figured you can forgive me for exploring some of the side characters that will be playing a part in my story. I feel like most writers don't spend enough time getting into the mindset of the characters for which they write about, assuming people understood from having watched the same show what they were like. Fanfiction is about taking what was created and making it your own by adding the unspoken and off camera moments. **

**I'm not saying I'm great and that this is the ultimate definition of who Vegeta is, but just who I want him to be in this story. I always felt that Vegeta had a lot more going on than the bull headed saiyan prince most people portray him as. There were a few moments in the anime that showed a bit of that hidden depth that was mostly glossed over, the parts that made Bulma stay wit him. And I decided to take that and dig a bit deeper here. I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Maybe I'll do an offshoot of what really happened between Bulma and Vegata. What do you guys think? Let me know =)**


	6. Life As We Know It

Homeroom period was what amounted to free time at Orange High School. Originally it had been intended for one period in the day where students could catch up on work, do some reading and other academic pursuits with faculty supervision that would hopefully lead to a friendlier rapport between student and teacher. What it turned into was a nap and goof off time for the students while teacher sat at the front of the class desperately trying to finish correcting papers and tests they should have been doing at home.

Second period was designated at homeroom on the daily schedule and followed the same routine every day. Students would walk in casually, usually 5 to 10 minutes late because there really wasn't anything important going on and the teachers had long since given up on caring, followed by the daily school wide announcement done by some breathless student council member announcing the various activities and sports events coming up and finishing up with an unnecessary announcement of the daily lunch menu which never changed. Occasionally the teacher would grab the student's attention and make some announcement, but those days were far and few between. In fact the last time their second period teacher Mr. Shimizaki had made an announcement to the class during homeroom was to introduce Gohan to the class.

So it was rather a surprising for most people when there had been polite knock at the door and Mr. Shimizaki had stepped outside the room to speak with whoever it was that had disturbed the relatively set routine of homeroom period. With the teacher outside the room the normally lower whispers and giggles broke out into a tidal wave of sound that escalated in volume as if someone had turned up a knob somewhere.

"What do you guys think this is about?" asked Erasa while craning her head to look at the door as if she might suddenly develop x-ray vision if she squinted at the tinted glass hard enough.

"Last time that happened was when you showed up Gohan," said Sharpner thoughtfully. "Think it's another transfer student?"

"Two in one year?" scoffed Videl in disbelief. "Come on, I know Orange High is considered one of the top schools in the country, but nobody's that desperate to get in. I mean we got like what, two months left before summer?"

Gohan was as curious as the others, but before he could add his own two cents to the conversation Mr. Shimizaki returned with a broad smile on his face.

"Well class, it seems we have the rather rare honor of receiving not one but two transfer students this year."

Sharpner shot Videl a triumphant look which the girl returned with a roll of her eyes. The sports nut stuck his tongue out at his friend which caused the girl to lift her lip in a sneer before they both broke out into silent giggles. It seemed the two of them always managed to have contrary opinions, Erasa was sure that if they ever agreed on anything it was a sign the world was coming to an end.

"Now, now, settle down please. I know it's rather unusual, but I'm told that she is rather well known to people of your generation, so without further ado may I introduce to you, Lime Carriage."

Gohan felt his eyebrows shoot up as the name was announced. When the blonde haired blue eyed girl strolled into the classroom, there was no mistaking in Gohan's mind who it was. Lime had changed quite a bit since Gohan had last seen her almost two years ago when she had finally moved away from the nearby village up in the mountains where the Son family lived. The half saiyan remembered seeing his friend in homespun dresses and work pants on the days she had chores, a girl who abhorred makeup and turned her head at jewelry calling them, unnecessary rich people accessories.

While the resemblance to his friend was unmistakable, it was quite a shocker to see her in jean shorts that showed off creamy thighs and hugging her curvy hips, a delicate looking blouse that hinted at her busty chest and three inch high heels that added to her height. Gohan had never seen Lime wear heels in the four years he had known her after rescuing her from the river, and it would seem that since she had moved into the big city she had become more tolerant of make-up and jewelry if the light foundation and modest earrings on her person was taken as any indications

There was no way this could be a coincidence, the girl standing in front of the class had to be his Lime. The gasp that broke out throughout the room was slightly surprising to him however. How was it that his classmates knew Lime? Shifting a glance to his friends, he noted how even Videl had a look of surprised interest on her face, something he rarely saw. Sharpner eyes were bulging comically looking like it might pop out of their sockets at any moment while Erasa's mouth hung wide open with astonishment.

Nudging Videl and ignoring Lime's introduction, Gohan leaned in close to her ear to whisper his question, completely missing the heated flush breaking out across the girl's face as his breath tickled her sensitive earlobes. Luckily for Videl, her two blonde friends were too preoccupied to notice her reaction; otherwise she'd never hear the end of it.

"Why are people acting that way?"

Smiling slightly at Gohan's confusion Videl leaned forward and whispered back. "I guess you wouldn't know living out in the countryside, but Lime Carriage is very famous to the rest of the world. She first made it big on the scene as a singer almost two years ago, and her songs have stayed on the top ten charts since then. She's also been in a dance movie that's been a real hit, and she modeled for the campaign 'real women have curves' that's pushing for banning the use of photo alteration technology in advertisement, especially in regards to a woman's figure."

Dark eyebrows that had shot up attempted to creep past his hairline. It would seem that Lime had been really busy. They had stayed in contact somewhat after she left, and she had even visited the Son's once during Christmas a couple months after she had first moved out, but mostly she had wanted to talk about how life had been in the 439 area. When asked about city life she had just rolled her eyes and muttered how she sometimes wished to move back here, but felt she had to stay, mostly for her Grandpa who's ailing health would find no treatment anywhere but out in the big cities. She had never brought up the fact that she now had a career as an international superstar, though that may explain how she managed to pay Bulma back for her Grandfather's treatment plan which the billionaire had been more than happy to help out with.

The enthusiastic applause of his classmates broke Gohan out of his musings, and he noted even Videl seemed particularly eager in her clapping. The teens around the room gibbered excitedly and wondered where Lime was going to be seated as Sharpner continued playing the part of the mute while doing his best to blow out his eyeballs and Erasa was jabbering away so fast it was unintelligible.

"Hey Lime! Small world huh?" The class as one turned to stare at the dark haired saiyan who was waving his hand with a sheepish expression. The looks of shock mingled with a bit of confusion at his statement turned to astonishment as their heads whiplashed back to face Lime who had broken out in a laugh and wicked grin when she had spotted her longtime friend.

"Oh you have no idea Gohan!"

**AN: yeah….life hit me like an out of control freight train. Sorry it's been so long. Hope I haven't completely alienated you guys! But story is finally starting to roll. There's a been a lot more ideas bouncing around in the old noggin even while I've been in writing hibernation, so hopefully I can go back to steamrolling out some chapters. Prob won't be as frequent as the daily one's I've done in the past, starting to dig into the GRE study material and classes are starting soon, but I'm hoping to push one out ever few days at least! Hope you guys had a good holiday! My new year's resolution involves writing a bit every day and finishing a story on FF! Let me know what you guys think and any mistakes I didn't catch.**


	7. The Winds Of Change

Videl barely paid attention to her chemistry teacher's lecture on ionic bonds and their formations. Right now her mind was still trying to process the fact that Lime Carriage was her new classmate, and that Gohan of all people knew the international superstar. There were few people Videl could honestly say she liked, and fewer still she looked up to. But out of all the camera hogging self-important celebrities of the world, she had to say that Lime had been one of the few she had a great amount of respect for.

The girl was her age and had reached her status out of her own talent and drive, something Videl sometimes felt she had not. It was true that her skills as a martial artists made her one of the most gifted fighters in the world, and probably the most capable of her age group, but the police would have never let her start her work as a crime fighter had it not been her father's name. Being the daughter of the world champion that had defeated the monster that had threatened humanity with Armageddon had a way of paving the road for you, something Videl did not always appreciate. The conspirators of the world that whispered how her father was a fraud and the people that generally disliked anyone who had done the world a favor and constantly sought to find something flawed with heroes did not need any more ammunition to slander her with.

But beyond simply achieving success off her own merits, Lime never seemed to bask in or even enjoy the limelight she had found herself in. The singer was polite and cheerful in front of the camera whenever they did manage to corner her, but more often than not they only got footage of her fleeing the paparazzi that hounded her every step since her ascension into the ranks of being a world idol. Every one of her songs had been a hit that had reached the top of the list and often stayed hovering near the top long after other catchy tunes would have faded away to obscurity. The lyrics were well written and thoughtful, and more often than not resonated with Videl with Lime's recurring theme of loss and sorrow and desire to find and be herself once more. She was a talented musician, seemingly skilled with a variety of instruments which she often played herself at her concerts, rarely being off key in her performance even while singing; a rather rare talent amongst todays' big name artists who either lip-synced their songs while doing some flashy choreographed dance routine, or the ones that sounded nothing like their auto tuned selves on disc when performing live.

Erasa had dragged Videl off to see Lime's debut movie One Last Dance which had made billions around the globe. At first the crime fighter had been adamant against going to see another ridiculous dance movie with her friend (she hated Step UP and the half dozen sequels and rip-offs Erasa had dragged her to go see), but had finally caved in when Erasa had begged her with her arms around her ankles out in the streets in front of dozens of people. Much to her surprise the movie had actually had a decent plot which would have made it a winner already, but combined with Lime's talent as a dancer and the catchy music half of which were releases form Lime's second album, had skyrocketed the movie into the top 5 most grossing box-office hits of all time, overshadowed only by three other giant money makers.

While all those achievements certainly would have been impressive on their own, what really made Videl admire Lime had been her active participation in the information campaign "Real Women Have Curves". While most other female celebrities seemed to take every chance possible to pose for the camera and show off as much skin as possible, Lime seemed to be outside this trend, dressing modestly (well for celebrities anyways), and having never accepted any offers to do any modeling endorsements even though the money that would have brought in most likely would have tripled her income. So it was a surprise to many when she was in the lineup for the campaign against the use of photo altering technology in advertisement, more specifically targeting the feminine figure. The lineup had consisted of half a dozen famous women lined up together in their undergarments and posing together to show off their natural bodies rather than the often impossibly thin and curvy doctored photos being pumped out in advertisement and fashion magazines. Lime was the youngest in the lineup, but had stood next to Bulma Briefs herself, smiling that dazzling smile that had become iconic to the young singer.

Videl wholeheartedly agreed with the campaign, and had even been contacted by the agency at one point offering a spot on the lineup, but she had been too shy to even think about parading herself in front of the camera in her undies even if she thought it was great idea. In a way Videl had envied Lime's courage to put herself on display to try to help improve the world. Throwing yourself head first into danger to protect others was arguably much more dangerous, but to Videl, baring your body like that for the world to see took more guts than running headfirst into gunfire. And while fighting crime made sure the citizens of Satan City could sleep easier at night protecting the couple million that lived in the city named after the world savior, the information campaign impacted girls and women around the world a number counted in the billions.

Chewing on her pencil she glanced over at Sharpner who still had a glazed look and a goofy smile on his face which had not left since Gohan had introduced them to Lime and he had gotten a hand shake from the girl. Videl rolled her eyes as her friend let out another dreamy sigh, glassy eyes staring blankly at the front of the class. No doubt the blonde was off in his own little fantasy world at the moment.

Glancing at the board, Videl was alarmed to find it filled with alien looking symbols and equations, and more so when the teacher reached for the eraser to make more room. Scrambling to copy down what was left intact on the whiteboard, Videl cursed her wandering mind. Her lack of vigilance in note taking would cost her when the test came up.

'Though I can just ask Gohan to tutor me I suppose.'

Her writing hand which had begun to cramp from her scribbling paused as she considered her thought. She had always gone to Erasa for tutoring when a subject was too hard to understand, ditzy though her friend may act, she could also switch onto lecture mode and sound like a teacher when she had to. Well a teacher that punctuated her statements with giggles and strange analogies that seemed to always go back to sex and body parts. Gohan was much calmer and seemed to have an ocean of patience when explaining concepts outside of her understanding, and managed to make even the most mystifying concepts easy to comprehend no matter how little time he had.

During third period in Lit Honors, Videl couldn't help but notice how much more open and outgoing the dark haired teen seemed now that Lime was sitting next to him. The two had spent most of the period whispering to one another and passing notes, and had even broken out into a paper ball flicking war at one point. Gohan not paying attention in class wasn't anything new, the boy seemed to know everything before it was taught, but usually he was doodling away quietly in the corner, not snickering away after blowing a spitball at someone.

Videl tried to ignore the slight tightening feeling in her chest as she recalled Gohan leaning forward and whispering into her ear. Heat built up in her stomach and blossomed on her face even now as she recalled how his warm breath had caressed her ear and brushed against the nape of her neck.

'Oh this is not happening. No no no no no. Not happening. Just imagining it. All in my head.'

But much as she might tell herself otherwise, all her bodily signs pointed at the same thing. She had a crush on Gohan. Videl had done an admirable job of fighting off those feeling and the thoughts that alluded to her attraction these past few months since she had gotten to know the boy, but even she couldn't explain away the irrational annoyance she had felt when Gohan and Lime had their heads together whispering away in soft tones in the back corner of the literature classroom.

Looking back up again, Videl found that the text on the board had done a Houdini and vanished.

"All right class, I hope you've been paying attention! We'll be having a quiz on the material I just covered tomorrow, so review your notes!"

Staring down at the relatively blank page in front of her filled with a few lines of unintelligible scribbles, Videl fought back a groan. She was so screwed. Glancing over at Sharpner who had finally broken out of his stupor and who looked rather alarmed at the teacher's announcement, she fought back a sigh. She wasn't going to get any help there.

**AN: haha so here I am slightly poking fun at our own world as well ;p Got this done rather sooner than I predicted and thought I'd post it before I went to get my root canal in an hour! Let me know what you guys think! See you next time!**


	8. In our darkest hour

"Subject 0-3 was lost during the operation. 5 and 7 sustained considerable setbacks and will take extensive study and repair before they can be fielded. I'm not even sure 7 is salvageable at this point."

"So much for 7 being a lucky number. "

"I think surviving the surgery itself counts as being pretty damn lucky."

"Indeed. So what of 4, 6 and 8?"

"4 and 8 are still unconscious from the procedure, somewhat expected. Alpha and Beta brain waves indicate that they are in a comatose state though we believe they will awaken given enough time. If necessary, the right chemical stimulants will do the same though I'd rather hold off on that and let them come to naturally."

"Understood. And what of 6?"

"He's already awake and in the gym even though we advised against it."

"Not surprising. He was the most eager out of all the volunteers to undergo this process. How soon will 6 be ready to be field tested?"

"From what we've seen from monitoring his activities in the weight room, everything seems to be functioning correctly. We haven't had a chance to do any detailed tests which I'm sure you'll order him through, but based off of just what we've observed so far I think it's safe to say that this endeavor was more than successful even if subject 6 is the only one to survive it."

"We'll see. As soon as he's done examining himself, I want him to go through every single test you can think of to make sure he's ready to be deployed."

"We're using state of the art technology pushed deep into unknown territory here sir. There's no amount of testing we can do that will ever let us be sure he's ready other than to send him out there and hope that the theory we had on paper was sound."

"We can't afford to have anything breaking down at the wrong moment doctor. Humanity needs this!"

"Countless disasters of apocalyptic proportions have always been on the horizon General, but the problems have always been solved! Someone always steps up! You know how I feel about project Ascension! What we did here is nothing short of monsterous!"

"It didn't stop you from going through with the surgery did it? No, as much as you loathed making those plans a reality, you knew as well as I did what needed to be done. You're right in that it seems every disaster seems to have been averted at the last second with the world remaining clueless as to just how fragile our existence is. But that's changed in the past few decades hasn't it? Aliens blowing away our army with just their bare hands? Killer androids that tore apart entire cities like tissue paper? Cell? What next? We can't depend on these heroes to keep standing up and succeeding at a time where we need them. We have to take measures to ensure the safety of our planet! We're stepping up our game right now doctor."

"…very well I'll see that the tests are prepared and ready to go at your say so General."

"Good, see to it that our man's at the top of his game. I've already got in mind a mission for him to take on as soon as you clear him."

"You're really not going to go through with that are you?"

"Maybe, we'll see. I think it's time the world realized the truth don't you?"

"The world's a fragile place sir. People aren't ready or wiling to face reality. It might be better to simply let things go on the way they have. As much as I personally dislike the man, he's done more good than harm being where he is."

"Maybe so, but it doesn't sit right with me that a fraud is parading around taking the credit for a defeat he had no hand in."

"It wasn't like the army was doing any better."

"No, no we weren't. But at least we have learned. We've improved. We'll be ready for next time."

**AN: Couldn't seem to put the words to paper with this story, but here's another shot that jumps story forward a bit more though it might seem out of place seeing as I haven't done much with my original promised plot haha. Just a warm up to get my head back in the game. Back to Gohan and the gang next update. Also overhauling some of the grammar and spelling problems while rewording things that sounded a bit awkward or off. Will let you guys know when I've updated that. Let me know how much you hate me through the review :p**


	9. Dancing with the stars

**AN: Biggest update yet! And boy was it a pain to write 0.O You know how people get writer's block? Well I get writer's constipation! Read and review! PLEEEEEZZZZ T.T**

Videl cringed slightly as she walked into the women's locker room. P.E. was normally her favorite class period of the day. A chance to both exert herself and compete against others never failed to get her heart pumping in exhilaration. And yes, normally that was exactly what physical education was all about, something most the girls in her school seemed to shy away from. But today's lesson would be different, and indeed for the next month and a half P.E. would become Videl's least favorite course.

After much debate and proposals going through the education board of Orange High, the petition to change their physical education department's stated goals had finally come to pass. Beyond simply "keeping the students active and physically healthy" they had added a "and impart useful real world skills" clause at the end of the department manifesto.

With the new 'imparting of real world skills' clause in place came a change in curriculum, most of which had remained secret, which to Videl sounded like even the teacher's had no clue what they were going to do and were still trying to figure it out.

"Videl!" the sharp cry of her name that could have easily been mistaken for a war cry came halfway across the locker room full of chatting young women changing into their attires for the newly announced class they would be taking.

Sighing to herself in defeat, the daughter of the savior of the world dragged her feet over to her long time friend's side.

"How was chemistry V?" asked Erasa as she took off her shirt and stuffed it into the small two by two cubby hole that stored their clothes.

"Nightmare," replied Videl with a grimace. "Might need some help from you later, Sharpner wasn't paying attention going gaga over our new celeb and I kept zoning out and only got half the notes."

Erasa giggled excitedly at the mention of Lime. "I still can't believe it, Lime Carriage, in our class!"

Rolling her eyes to herself as she changed into her uniform, the crime fighter wondered how long it would take before people got over the fact that they had a celebrity amongst them. Judging by how after seven years she was still placed on a pedestal to be admired by the school population, probably never.

"And you know I wasn't too sure about this whole dance class thing, I mean can you imagine coach Buchster trying to show us how to dance?" laughed Erasa causing Videl to shudder at the image of the oversized coach trying to squeeze into a tutu. "But with Lime here I bet they'll practically hand the class over to her!"

Joining the throng of girls headed out the changing rooms, Videl cast a curious look around the crowd looking for their new celebrity acquaintance. "Where is she anyways? Doesn't she have P.E. with us?"

"Oh yeah, she didn't have a uniform yet and went to talk with the coach," replied the blonde as she pulled her hair back into a short ponytail.

When they finally entered the gymnasium where the class was supposed to take place, they were greeted with the sight of a beautiful redhead woman dressed in a long flowing skirt that was cut diagonally from the hip town to her shapely legs. She wore a white blouse to contrast with her dark bottom, but it all paled in contrast to her brilliant smile.

"Good afternoon ladies!" crooned the unknown woman. "We're still waiting on the boys, though I would have thought that they would be the first here!"

Her tinkling laugh brought out many smiles as the girls gathered around.

"Are you our new instructor?" a curious student asked.

"Yes, Orange High was determined to make sure their dance class wasn't turned into a joke so they hired me!"

Videl listened with half an ear as the teacher chatted with the students. Ms. Jawlin, though she preferred her first name Sarah, was a dance choreographer who had been dancing since she was six. Twenty years later she had a retired from the performing arts to turn her hand to teaching and helping dance teams get their acts down for big performances. She had worked with a number of celebrities and famous dance crews much to the excitement of the young women present. Despite her earlier ambivalent feelings, Videl could feel herself getting infected with her classmates' good cheer.

"Ah, and there the gentleman are. With one lady it seems!"

Videl turned to look at the approaching males and had to snort back a laugh at the rather disgruntled looks most of them bore on their faces. Her chest tightened slightly as she caught sight of Gohan who was saying something to Lime causing her to burst into laughter. For a moment their eyes met across the gymnasium and Videl felt her heart skip a beat as he smiled brightly at her.

Gohan led Sharpner and Lime over to Videl and Erasa who had been waving her hand frantically to catch their attention.

"So dance class huh?" asked Lime with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Think you still got the moves Gohan?"

Instead of stuttering and blushing as they expected, the dark haired saiyan chuckled and curled his lip up in a playful sneer. "Please, it's me we're talking about here."

The two old friends shared a laugh, confusing their classmates. Gohan knew how to dance?

"Well class," Ms. Jawlin began, "I had planned on a solo demonstration to try to get your undivided attention into the art and wonder of dancing, but that was before I caught wind of the fact that one of my students is in fact a world class dancer who could probably teach me a thing or two!"

She paused to beam at Lime who stood out somewhat in her jean shorts and blouse compared to the rest of the uniformed students.

"So how about it Ms. Carriage?" the teacher continued. "Care to show us how it's done?"

The class broke out into excited cheers and applause, drawing an embarrassed laugh from the world idol.

"Alright, but only if Gohan agrees to be my partner!" she announced over the noise. "It takes two to tango after all!"

The crowd broke out into jeers and laughs and people began to chant Gohan's name. Videl traded incredulous looks with her two friends, all wondering what was happening. Their Gohan?"

Shaking his own head, the boy in question raised his both hands up placating. "Alright, one small demonstration."

"Wonderful!" Sarah crowed as she made a shooing motion to the class, pushing the students to clear the floor. "Is there any song in particular that you would prefer?"

"Oooo I have the perfect one!" exclaimed Lime with a wicked smile.

Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through the music player and turned the screen to Gohan who leaned in to look.

"Oh I don't know about that one Lime…" he said with raised eyebrows, a slight look of worry on his face.

The class once more broke out into chanting, shouting at him to "Do It! Do It!"

"Come on Gohan!" teased Lime with a playful shove. "Afraid you forgot the steps?"

"Of course not," he drawled, "I was just worried you might be biting off more than you could chew seeing as I'm a lot taller than you are now."

The megastar laughed and gave her friend a punch in the arm. "Son Gohan, I'm gonna make you eat those words."

Walking over to the teacher who had brought out a boom box with a USB connection, Lime showed her their selection. Ms. Jawlin's eyebrows shot up as she read whatever it was on the screen before raising her hand to cover the smile on her lips.

"Oh my, that's an interesting selection there."

The class got louder as they began to speculate what could cause the teacher to look so surprised.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! They're going to tango!" screamed Erasa excitedly as she clutched at Videl's arm in a painful death grip.

"I didn't think Gohan had it in him," said the crime fighter slowly. "He certainly never hinted at the fact that he could dance."

"Actually I'm not all that surprised," remarked Sharpner causing both girls to turn and look at him in disbelief.

Seeing their astonished looks the jock shrugged. "I've seen him change in the locker rooms. The boy's pretty ripped. And it's not the pumping iron for an hour every day type of buff. You only see that kind of lean build on people who do a lot of physical activity continuously like gymnasts and dancers."

Seeing their still disbelieving looks, the blonde male got slightly irritated. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell us this?" demanded Videl.

"Uh, you know something called privacy?" replied Sharpner sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "I don't go around blabbing to him about everything I know about you guys either, why should I tell you everything about him?"

Huffing slightly, Videl crossed her arms and looked away as the lights in the gymnasium began to dim.

"Oh look! They're about to start!" Erasa squealed.

At the center of the gym Gohan and Lime stood about thirty paces apart. They were limbering up with stretches that looked quite painful even to Videl who practiced martial arts and was no strangers to warm ups.

Then the music began; a simple strumming of a guitar string with a Spanish flavor to it. Gohan and Lime began to advance towards each other. Gohan moved with a lithe grace that took an observer's breath away, the casual stroll he normally moved at gone, replaced by a rippling glide that told of an unbelievable amount of muscle control. Lime herself matched her partner's movement with a graceful confident strut that somehow transformed her above average body and looks to a phenomenal mesmerizing movement that had entranced the world.

As the two dancers came within range of each other, they turned slightly so that they moved around one another, all the while facing each other as if examining their partner in such a sensual manner that the audience could practically feel the sexual charge even sitting twenty feet away in the bleachers. As lyrics began playing, the words faded into the background for the audience as the two dancers finally engaged. Gohan had casually moved up behind Lime as she continued turning so that her back was now facing him, and he reached out to grab her shoulders, their feet movement synching up as they fell into rhythm with one another.

Taking a few steps backwards together, they began their dance in earnest. Gohan twisted Lime with a deft flick of his hands, his partner responding in a graceful twirl that sent her in a three hundred and sixty degree spin that rounded about three times before she finished, now face to face with him.

Instantly, their bodies seemed to flow into each other, meshing into one graceful form that seemingly had no discernible beginning or end. Their heads were pressed closely together at an affectionate distance that even an experienced couple would have blushed at, one hand entwined in their partner's hair and the other wrapped around the others upper back.

_El tiempo pasa y pasa y yo sigo asi_

_Queriendote en mis brasos sin poderte tener_

_Y busco una salida para no verme asi_

_Ay que lejos de mi lado tu amor esta de mi_

As the two glided across the dance floor as one, the audience was stunned into silence, the elegant movement of the two dancers unlike anything they had ever bore witness to. Their right leg was tucked inside their partner's crotch region, each buck and shift of Gohan's hip accented by a raised calf from Lime. The entire dance seemed to center around the hypnotic sway of Lime's own backside, her well-toned butt seemingly calling out to the audience's eyes as the two performers sashayed their bodies across the floor.

_Yo lloro y lloro al saber que no estas_

_Con mis labios mira mami yo te quiero besar_

_Y trato y trato por no sentirme asi_

_Pero es malo saber que ya no me quieres a mi_

As the last stanza of the lyrics finished, Gohan pushed Lime away from himself somewhat, but grabbed her lower back with both hands. Lime bent backwards in her partners grip, arching her spine to form an elegant curve while Gohan carefully swept her from left to right, provoking cries of excitement from the class. As Lime was lifted back to an upright position, the two partners left their earlier sensual embrace to break out into a more traditional hand holding movement. Though more separated, the dance was still focused on highlighting the popping movement of Lime's hips to the catchy Spanish tune. Swaying from side to side, they exchanged twirls, using their partner's hands as the focal point of their twists before reversing the direction and facing the other once more.

As the singer began to cry for his mother, Lime turned so that her back was facing towards Gohan, pressing her entire body up against his. Lime's left hand was held high above her head in Gohan's own while her right was placed over his other which was palming her waist. Together the two oscillated gently from left to right on the spot, causing people to break out into cheers and wolf whistles.

_Mira, como estoy sufriendo_

_Me quemo por dentro, por sentir tu amor_

_(Por sentir tu amor)_

_Mami, no me hagas, eso sabes que te quiero_

_Con todo el corazon_

_(Check it out now)_

_(Yo E, Xtreme)_

As the singer paused to let the instrumental run, the two dancers changed up their own pace, ending their current dance with a simple twist from Lime who ended up with her back to Gohan again, this time wrapped in a two handed hug from behind. Snatching her right hand in his left, Gohan moved them so that they were facing the crowd and allowed Lime to edge in behind him. Her hands reached out from underneath his arms, grasping his shirt in a firm grip before tearing the material apart and exposing his toned chest to the crowd, timing it so that it happened just when the music lulled. More than one girl in the crowd crowed in delight at the sight, whistling and cheering on the dancing couple.

Again the pair broke apart, this time standing a few feet apart as they began to individually dance to the instrumental that had begun to pick up its pace. Legs crossed and uncrossed in a complex series of movements that sent them gracefully across the floor from each other, the routine made more astonishing by the fact that the two were mirroring each other's movements perfectly without looking, as if they had been doing this all their lives. Their hands fluttered and arched, calling attention to their bodies as they reflected one another's graceful actions before finally shimmying back to the center where they met and partnered up once more.

_Te amo y te extraño quiero verte junto a mi_

_Abrasados de las manos y estar junto a ti_

_Pero me mata la conciencia el saber que no esta aqui_

_O baby why you gotta be doing this to me_

While before their hold had been close and intimate, they now held each other at a greater distance, often pushing their hands to span the entire width of their bodies and length of their arms. The gentle bodily swaying and hip rolling had been replace by a much more grandiose movement that saw them moving over much more of the dance floor than before, each step graced by a kick of Lime's leg.

_Me duele tanto de saber que ya no eres para mi_

_Y ese lindo cuerpesito que contigo comparti_

_Me duele tanto saber que ya no eres para mi_

_Te extraño_

Again, Lime bent her back down into an arch, this time in a much faster and more violent movement akin to a snapping motion that was steadied by Gohan's hold on her hands. After a few more spins and twists, the two dances once more broke apart, this time moving so that their backs faced each other, their movements once more copied by the other even though they were now back to back. To and fro they moved, meeting back together at the center before moving off in opposite directions again.

_Mira, como estoy sufriendo_

_Me quemo por dentro, por sentir tu amor_

_(Por sentir tu amor)_

_Mami, no me hagas, eso sabes que te quiero_

_Con todo el corazon_

Once more the couple melted back into one another's embrace, falling back into their first routine with their heads close and bodies closer. As they glided across the floor, at one point Gohan held up both of Limes hands above her head as she rolled her hips in such a suggestive manner that more than one male found themselves getting aroused at the sight.

_Ay amor_

_(Ay amor)_

_Como me duele_

_(Como me duele)_

_Estar sin ti_

_(Estar sin ti)_

_Tu no me amas_

_(Too strong)_

Here they faced one another, both hands grasping their partners heads in a close face to face embrace as if they were about to kiss. Closer and closer their faces came, all the while they continued swaying their bodies in time to one another.

_Mira como estoy sufriendo_

_Me quemo por dentro por sentir tu amor_

_(Por sentir tu amor)_

_Mami_

_(Ay mami)_

Grabbing both of Limes wrist in his hands, Gohan swung once then pulled her into a twirl that ended with her pressed up hard against his body, their entire routine coming to a pause as she leaned up against him, one hand still trapped in his grip while his head dipped down from behind and graced her shoulder line. One palm against her belly, Gohan raised her trapped hand above her head. As the raising hand reached the apex, his other hand which had been moving to her waistline deftly unbuckled her belt, sending the decorative leather winging outwards at the buckle much to the scandalous delight of the crowd. Together, they raised their remaining hands up to meet the one already held high and with a quick spin and a twirl they were back into their embracing hold.

_No me hagas eso_

_(No me hagas eso)_

_Sabes que te quiero_

_Con todo el corazon_

_Mira, como estoy sufriendo_

_Me quemo por dentro, por sentir tu amor_

With a final skillful snap of his wrist, Gohan sent Lime into a spin, this time grasping only onto one of her hands and allowing her to pull away from his body. The grinning girl pulled to a halt, facing the crowd with a beaming face just as the music ended, causing the crowd to burst into delighted applause and cheers.

Videl had watched the entire sequence with her jaws slightly open, unable to reconcile the image of the graceful male dancer below with her quiet nerdy friend who was prone to stammering and blushing when faced with question not related to schoolwork. Turning incredulous eyes to look at Sharpner, Videl stifled a laugh at her friend's expression. She did not think it was humanly possible to have eyes bulged out that much, but Sharpner was doing his damn best to prove her wrong.

"Oh my gosh!" shouted Erasa over the enthusiastic crowd while fanning her face with one hand. "That was so hot it was practically sex on the dance floor!"

Feeling her own face heating up at the uncomfortable flopping feeling of jealousy building in her stomach, Videl huffed and rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that special," she muttered quietly to herself.

Down on the floor, the two dancers had taken a bow much to the pleasure of the class, but Videl couldn't help but notice with slight tribulation that their hands were still intertwined.

**AN: The dance and song is based off of an actual routine I saw on youtube. For those of you interested to see where I got this idea from, go type in Bachata Extreme into youtube and it should be the first one there. So like? Hate? Let me know!**


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